Ontario considers charging emitters for pollution

Ontario is considering having large industrial companies pay for pollution if they exceed emissions standards that will be established in the province — a system critics say is the same as the federal carbon tax the government has railed against for months.

The Progressive Conservative government posted a proposal for the system on Ontario’s Environmental Registry on Tuesday as part of its plan to fight climate change.

Under the proposal, which is open for public comment, the province would set sector or facility-level greenhouse gas emissions standards rather than an absolute cap on emissions.

The system could make companies that exceed emissions standards pay for “compliance units,” which start at $20 per tonne. The price of the units would increase by $10 a year until they max out at $50 a tonne in 2022.

“Our environment plan put forward responsible, tangible solutions that take into consideration the unique circumstances of our economy and the environment,” Environment Minister Rod Phillips said in a statement.

Premier Doug Ford’s government scrapped the previous Liberal regime’s cap-and-trade system after being elected last year, and launched a court challenge opposing the imposition of a federal carbon price on the province. Sixteen groups, including the governments of Ontario, New Brunswick and British Columbia, are also intervening in Saskatchewan’s constitutional challenge against the federal carbon pricing.

The federal carbon tax, which goes into effect April 1, will be imposed on provinces that don’t have their own carbon pricing plans.

Greenpeace Canada said the proposed system essentially puts a price on carbon.

“The government can rail against carbon taxes and say how evil they are but this is basically what they’re doing here,” said Keith Stewart, the group’s senior energy strategist.

Federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna said the Ford government has not made fighting climate change a priority and that has resulted in “huge cost and significant uncertainty to business.”